The restaurant was closed - despite accepting our reservation. We drove all the way for nothing

The place is closed down and Open Table still made a reservation!!

It was closed for business

It is closed

Kukuri was closed and looks to be closed permanently!

I booked through open table 2 days before my reservation and when I got there the restaurant was closed. Open table should have told me.

IT IS CLOSED!!! Sign on front door says “The lease was not renewed.”
Had to go elsewhere.
This restaurant should be removed from Open Table!!!!!

Ok the sushi and sashimi was really good, buttery yellow tail, fatty but melting salmon, white fish of the day good, and the makti was ok, but we needed more options. Ran out of wasabi and soy sauce and was wondering if the price of soy went up. Also got some hot food options please ....like rice, little baby Japanese ribs (wtf animal do those come off of?) edamame, as you had zero choices. Finally the waiter needed to speak up, his tone was like a little girl. He worked hard but I worked harder understanding him.

Food was not great. Not nearly as good as other sushi restaurants in town. Service was abysmal. We left during the meal. This place won’t be open for more than six months.

Food was ok, service was great

Fantastic quality of the fish, excellent salmon sashimi (melted on your tongue!), topnotch authentic Japanese sushi and sashimi. It is very expensive though, $95 (excl. service & tax) for 4 different sashimi (4 tiny pieces each) and 10 mini-nigiri is really expensive for a nice plate that won't fill you up... Luckily, there are other restaurants in Houston that serve outstanding, authentic Japanese sashimi and sushi at a more reasonable price. Of course, it will never be cheap if you want excellent quality, but it does not have to be as expensive as at Kukuri...

Went for the omakase. The 630 sitting was still being served when we arrived. We were asked to be at the restaurant 15 mins prior to our reservation. Our reservation was at 830, however we were not seated until after 9. We were served a complimentary appetizer while we wait however this was served to us again as the second course for our omakase. The food was good, but I felt short changed when the bill came. Going in I knew the service was $175 per person...... I guess I just expected higher quality service and explanation of food for the price tag.

Great sushi!!! 🍣

Every single time we come here we are blown away. If you’re looking for fancy rolls then this isn’t your place. Omakase is Divine. The cod literally melted while eating. The fish was incredibly fresh. The chef made things like the barracuda and snapper taste delicate and not overpowering. The sea urchin iterations were easy to eat when a lot of times the urchin is just bland. Worth every single penny we spent. We will return.

Hard to find since the sign has little lighting.
Very industrial and cold inside. Bar is just beer and wine and very little thought went into it . Very grey and “cold” no colors other than dark. Waiters are nice but very “cold” as well. Maybe too Japanese for Houston.
Food is high quality but the value is bad. 6oz of fish sashimi for $35 and a maki cigar size roll for $15 is ridiculous.
The menu is stale not creative and very expensive for the location and quality of service and ambiance as well as value . I know is very Japanese and fish is high quality but in Houston you can get better in a more fun environment.
Good luck good evening and good bye hope they make it but they need to make lots of changes

Busy spot. Had to wait to be seated because of lingering patrons. Overall the food was good. The best things were the seafood. Sashimi quality was excellent. A bit pricy, but ingredients were top notch and food presentation was beautiful.

Best sushi in Houston. Authentic and unctuous. Comparable to best sushi houses in Manhattan. Fish as it is meant to be. Try it - you won't miss the clubby fusion kale smothered wannabes.

Nice place. Great staff. Underwhelming food. I hope that it will improve because as a whole it has a lot of potential.

We went for the omakase dinner. The food was amazing and we left having to waddle out from eating so much food. Very good service and hospitality!

For the price that they charge, I’d expect better overall dining experience. Food is great, but it’s obvious that they are being run by inexperienced management and staff.

Did not live up to its billing. Go with Kata. Stay with Kata.

Did the omakase, will not go bad. No body was there. They told us only two seats left at omakase but the whole section was open. Nobody in the restaurant.
So prefer mf omakase over this
Will not go back.

Very authentic Japanese food .

Great service. Great food. Amazing overall

Items in the menu exchanged with other things, ex. No Wagyu beef available, exchanged for US beef. Some items from the daily menu where not available at 8:00 pm. Overall taste of food was good. Wine list was short. 3/5

Best Japanese food with a true Japanese experience all around

Price point is equivalent to uchi, mf, kata, but is no where in the same playing field. Granted restaurant is new & working out kinks, but the atmosphere is non existent and there is no real bar area either.

Restaurant was busy and understaffed, so naturally the service was pretty terrible. I counted our server had 4 tables plus a big top, so I’m amazed we got food at all, and she was apologetic throughout. What really had me peeved however was the GM (I asked who the guy in the suit was) who seemed to leisurely pace about and on occasion give an order or two. He had AMPLE opportunities to pitch in and help the servers but seemed to have something better to do in spite of doing little but pace slowly back and forth slowly observing the multitude of things needing to be done but doing little. For example, after we put our credit card in the check, he walked by and looked at us four times over probably 10 minutes. Our card was clearly in the check sleeve needing to be run. Granted our server could have picked it up but she was literally running through the restaurant trying to stay on top of her tables and he literally moseyed by is 4 Times and looked right at us. Aside from that, our server was knowledgeable and helpful and the food was absolutely delicious.

The omakase experience is phenomenal. The chef and the staff were amazing and kind.

Exceptional food and experience!

Way too expensive for what we had! Service was terrible

Poorly run , bad management and rice was falling apart on the sushi but the quality of the food was excellent

Very good quality and good service. They were out of nearly 50% of menu selections. I will try again.

ONE OF THE WORST DINING EXPERIENCES I HAVE EVER HAD ANYWHERE. I don't usually write reviews, but this was so bad, I had to. Awful service, we waited and waited and waited - for everything (drinks, water, menus, the check) to the point that we asked for the manager - again we waited and he never bothered to come to the table. Portions were so small and so overpriced. $13 seaweed salad that literally fit into a shot glass (not kidding). They served everyone but the birthday girl, who got so hungry she finally ate her cake first. We were all almost finished by the time she was served. The food was good, but after spending over $400 ON APPETIZERS for 6 people and we all left hungry - ridiculous. The manager offered a refund after one of us wrote a bad review. We provided our information for the refund - not a big surprise - but we never received the refund. Houston has far too many great places to eat that treat their customers MUCH better. I am a foodie and don't mind paying $$ for a great dining experience - but this was over priced and under whelming!

For the price-point this restaurant attempts to market itself to, service is paramount. Our food arrived at different times. I found myself waiting over 15 minutes for my guests food to arrive after I had been served my plate. The food was OK - I have eaten sushi all around the world and the fish was good - but not equivalent to the price point. The fatty toro was lacking texture and taste. This restaurant will not last and will most likely close if they do not review their operations and make changes to improve their service, delivery of food, and explanation of menu choices. Maybe I should have had the duck instead?

We've paid 3x of price of other sushi places; however, the sushi or the other food was any different from other Japanese restaurant. Sushi was not any different. Wagyu beef was $75 and 6 pieces of meat with vegetable was NOT any good. Very disappointing. Kata Robata or Uchi has so much better sushi and other selections. This place is overrated!!!

Houston finally gets the sushi destination it deserves. Don’t expect happy hour pricing and don’t expect smokes salmon to ever be featured.

This is a place for people that love sushi and understand the intricacy of saki parings. This is a place for people that want pristine and authentic Japanese dishes.

Eat here before it gets too crowded.

Our third time at Kukuri in about as many months -- the food is amazing. Kukuri serves the freshest, highest quality sushi/sashimi you'll find in Houston and the preparation is perfect. We love several other sushi restaurants in the Montrose/Upper Kirby/Museum District areas but Kukuri is really the standout amongst standouts.

We've ordered from the menu and also had the chance to have the Omakase dinner and have been very happy with both types of experiences. They've also added more non-seafood dishes in the last few weeks. As for the people, we have found the staff to be very knowledgeable, personable, and attentive; the chefs are sublime. The restaurant is family-friendly and the dress is generally smart-casual -- given the spaciousness of the dining area and the not-at-all-cramped arrangement of tables, Kukuri would also be good for business and special occasion meals . (Kukuri did seem to go through some growing pains earlier this fall but we were glad to see everything going smoothly last weekend and look forward to our next visit!)

My husband and I went to kukuri after hearing so much about whats happening there. We are Japanese and have a hard time finding places that feel authentic to our home land. We had Sushi combo and a duck of hot dishes. Everyone I read about really loves the sushi and sashimi as did we... But the Duck nabe really blew me away. I did not expect to be transported back to Kyoto, my favorite place in the world to dine, when I arrived. They evev had beer from Kyoto of Japan.

I was with my 1 year old daughter as well and it was her birthday. I was really imppressed that the server and manager were so kind and caring to my daughter... even thought my baby did not like the manager...hahaha. it's rare that a service team shows actual care for babies. I usually get the feeling that I am be being a burden. Not at Kukuri though!! We will be back and not just for special occasions.

I’m a sushi guy and this place is top to me in that regard!!! Hot food is excellent also. I was really surprised at how kind the staff is. From manager to bus boy everyone was very nice.

The space looks really cool also. Modern and classic sleek and industrial as well....